TV anchor and Rudd 'friend' detained in China corruption probe

China correspondent for Fairfax Media

Rising star: Rui Chenggang, seen here moderating a session at the World Economic Forum in Davos in 2011, has been detained. Photo: AP

Beijing: A prominent Chinese state television news anchor known for his high-profile interviews with world leaders has been detained by authorities, state media has reported, becoming perhaps the best-known celebrity to be ensnared in President Xi Jinping's broadening anti-corruption drive.

The news anchor, Rui Chenggang, a presenter on national broadcaster China Central Television, has more than 10 million followers on China's Twitter equivalent, Weibo.

He was entrusted with an extended one-on-one interview with Tony Abbott when the Prime Minister visited China in April, and has also been described as an "old friend" by former prime minister Kevin Rudd. The pair regularly trade friendly messages on Weibo, with Mr Rudd crediting the news presenter for introducing him to the social media site where he often chats with his more than half a million followers in Chinese.

The People's Daily, the Communist Party's flagship newspaper, reported on Saturday that the anchor was taken away by officials on Friday, along with Li Yong, the vice-director of financial news for the network, confirming an earlier report by financial magazine Caixin.

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Rui's detention appeared to have taken place abruptly on Friday, with his co-host for that evening's program anchoring the show alone next to an empty chair and microphone still visible in the studio.

Rumours that a widening government investigation into corruption at CCTV would implicate Rui had circled for weeks.

Unconfirmed Chinese reports suggest he is being investigated for using his profile and influence at the network to "sell" access to his prominent interviewees to third parties. There is no suggestion that any Australian leaders have participated in this.

A senior journalist at CCTV said on Saturday that colleagues had told him in the morning that they had been ordered to remove content related to Rui from the network’s website and to scrap on-air advertisements featuring him and his show, according to the New York Times.

Rui, who is fluent in English and in his mid-30s, is particularly well known domestically for starting a populist campaign which compelled the government to remove a Starbucks cafe from the historic Forbidden City in Beijing in 2007.

In 2010, he became the subject of internet mockery over a comment he made when US President Barack Obama called for questions from the Korean news media at a G20 summit in South Korea.

When no one volunteered, Rui said: “I’m actually Chinese, but I think I get to represent the entire Asia."

Mr Xi's anti-corruption drive has broadened to numerous key state-controlled sectors including energy, the financial sector, universities, military and now the state-owned media.

Last month, the Communist Party announced that Xu Caihou, a former top general, was being stripped of party membership and handed over to investigators looking into allegations of corrupt practices, including the selling of military posts. Xu’s purge was the most significant in the ranks of the People’s Liberation Army in many years.